17 Dec 2025 · 3 min
Ellen Langer's research shows that simple mindset shifts can change behavior and health. Role-playing as Air Force pilots improved people's vision on eye charts. Pick a single-word mantra to capture a richer mindset.
You're listening to optimize with bryan johnson. More wisdom in less time. Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Optimize plus one. In our last plus one, we revisited Ellen Langer at her Psychology of Possibility lab at Harvard to learn that words matter. As you may recall, simply priming people with words associated with old age via a crossword puzzle will cause them to walk more slowly to the elevator than those who weren't primed with those words. Rubbing my eyes one more time. Astonishing, eh? And one more time, words matter a lot. Langer shares that study and wisdom in her book Counterclockwise in a section in which she also talks about placebos and other truly fascinating studies. Here's how she puts it. I quote when we see mind and body as parts of a single entity, the research on placebos takes on new meaning and suggests we can not only control much of our disease experience, but we may also be able to extend our ability to gain, recover, or enhance our health. She continues by saying placebos often come in the form of a single word that captures a richer mindset. In one study I conducted with my students, we explored the mindset most of us have regarding excellent vision Air Force pilots have. All participants were given a vision test. One group of participants were then encouraged to role play Air Force pilots. The they dressed apart and in uniform sat in a flight simulator. They were asked to read the letters on the wing of a nearby plane, which were actually part of an eye chart. Those participants who adopted the pilot mindset primed to have excellent vision showed improved vision over those who were simulating being in the simulator and simply asked to read an eye chart from the same distance. What? Just having people pretend that they're Air Force pilots can improve their vision? Seriously? Yes. That's today's +1. What's your single word that captures a richer mindset? Let's pop that mantra placebo word all day today. And if you feel so inspired, why not even dress the part as well? We hope you enjoyed this episode of Optymyze with Brian Johnson. To find out more, go to Optimize Me. Hey guys, this is Brian with a quick little P.S. i'm really excited to let you know about an event we're working on. Plan is to make it the premier self optimizing event of 2020. We're calling it Optimize 2020. You the modern hero. Basic idea. Five days, 101 world class luminaries. One million people. You can learn more and get your tickets to the online and offline event at Optimize Me 2020 again. That's Optimize Me2020. Hope to see you there.
